I'm scared

Hugs to you!

I'd suggest keeping the focus on YOU. You don't need to worry about what your mom does -- you are on this journey for you.

Second, when you are starting from ground zero, I think it's important to start small. Make one change a month. For me, I spent the first month just logging what I ate, and eating normally. That made the logging a habit. I set my goal at maintaining my current weight, so at least I wasn't gaining. The next month I set my goal at losing just half a pound a week. The third month I added in exercise. these small changes feel more sustainable to me than trying to change everything at once.

Good luck and please add some friends to your profile -- it helps!

We are not perfect and the best we can do is keep getting back on that pony! Every day is a new opportunity to work toward a GOAL. Each small achievement is a WIN. You will not reach your goal in a day, a week or a month, but you WILL do it if you keep on trying.

Don't give up...make really small changes...start this week and google 300 calorie breakfast...eat that for a week and log your food. Next week google 250 calorie snacks and add that. After about 6 weeks you will have completely "overhauled" your diet and you may be doing it slowly enough that your mom doesn't even notice.

Hang in there!!!

I would ask yourself seriously what you're scared of.

You don't need to be scared of quitting. It will just put you back where you are.

I hope you're not scared of losing weight and becoming more healthy. That is a wonderful goal to aspire to and you've taken the first step in the right direction. Did you know that on average it takes a smoker four tries before they quit? And every time they have the same chance of success. So try. Nothing to be scared of.

It sounds like you might be scared that you won't be able to change something you really want to. So you're not afraid of starting. You're afraid of failing. You can't fail if you keep trying. Every single time you log is a success. Every single day you eat too much and start again the next day is a success.

I have a fish on my ticker in honor of Dora from Finding Nemo. Her motto is 'Just keep swimming!'.

I hope your advice helps OP, and it sure is helping me! I was doing wonderfully, then I fell and damaged my knee to the point that some days I could hardly walk. then I started eating my old way, then I stopped logging. I was almost at the "what's the use?'" point, when I booked two trips- one next month to Malaysia, one in December to the Holy Land. Yesterday I was shopping and tried on a dress and caught a glimpse of my stomach and was really disgusted with myself. I almost want to take a knife and chop it off! I want to get back to my healthy habits, but I think I have some deep fear of being thinner. I'm starting logging again today, and I am going to check to see if our local gym has trainers who can help me. Thank you!

Hey everyone,

I am starting my weight loss journey tomorrow. I have started this journey several times in the past but never stuck to it nor even came close to finishing it. As a kid I have always been overweight. During my teen and early 20s, the lowest I got was 150 and I was around 5'6 then. Now I am 27, 5'8 and 250 pounds. I have never been over the 200 mark and I am severely depressed because of my weight. In the last two years I have tried to motivate myself to lose weight and I'd do fitness and diet programs for some weeks and then just give up. I also have a hypothyroid program which I am on medication for.

The problem is that I currently live with my parents (went back to school) and my mother eats a LOT of wheat, and enjoys cheese, cakes, pizza on occasion. She often buys me chocolate bars and wants me to indulge in the food with her. I always do. The problem is also that she is post heart surgery (4 years) and I worry about her diet but she is stubborn to change and says she knows what she is doing. Therefore we cannot eat healthy together because everytime I try to have a healthy diet, I get sucked into temptation or my mother criticizes me and makes me feel bad. Because of this, I resort to eating because when I am stressed, I EAT! A lot too. My favorite is cheese, carbs... pizza, pasta oh god I could eat forever And I have stopped exercising.

My mother is veryyyy critical and she is not obese like me, just a little overweight. She constantly tells me I am fat and laughs at me and when I confront her, she says it is a joke and she would never want to hurt me. But I don't think she can resist poking fun at me. I give up on all diet attempts because I lack extreme motivation and when I am not motivated, I cannot do anything.

I tend to join things and then quit. I did WW and quit after two weeks. I am currently joined at the gym but I never go!!! So I pay for something I never go to... it's depressing. I have a lot of issues internally, I constantly feel stressed and unable to do things. Even after I feel better about working out and eating good, I fall into this weird rut where things become too monotone (not even too hard) and I give up. I also tend to become obsessed to the point where I am like.... well I didn't work out today so why bother eating right? or "i have to work out 7 days a week to be successful and workouts like p90x!"

I am scared to do this. I am looking for support and motivation- stories of others in my boat. I have over 100 pounds to lose and my goal weight is 145. Any help? Advice? I really want to succeed but my mind gets the best of me **(

WELL....YOU SOUND LIKE A YOUNGER VERSION OF ME... I STARTED MY JOURNEY LAST YEAR AT THE AGE OF 45, AND ALTHOUGH I HAVEN'T LIVED WITH MY PARENTS SINCE I WAS ALMOST 22, THE CONSTANT PRESSURE TO EAT IS ALWAYS PREVALENT IN MY FAMILY. ALL OCCASION TO GET TOGETHER REQUIRE FOOD...A MEAL...A SNACK...WHATEVER. IT'S A SOCIAL AND CULTURAL THING THAT HAS LED TO ME BEING OVERWEIGHT MY WHOLE LIFE. THE PRESSURE FROM FAMILY TO ALWAYS EAT AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO GATHER FOR DISCUSSION WAS UNSTOPPABLE. WHILE NEVER OBESE, MY FAMILY HAS ALL STRUGGLED WITH BEING OVERWEIGHT AND NON ACTIVE. I ALWAYS, ALWAYS HATED THAT LIFESTYLE OF FOOD, FOOD, FOOD...SIT SIT SIT. I WANTED TO PLAY SPORTS WHILE I WAS KID, BUT WASN'T ALLOWED TO FOR ECONOMIC AND PROTECTIVE REASONS (GOD FORBID I GET HURT)....WHILE MY PARENTS THOUGHT THEY MEANT WELL, IT JUST DROVE MY DESIRE TO BE A HEALTHY PERSON. WHEN I FINALLY MOVED OUT AND GOT MARRIED, I TOO STRUGGLED WITH THYROID DISEASE. I WAS YOUNG AND TRYING TO FIGURE IT ALL OUT, BUT ON TOP OF THAT HAD TO HAVE RADIOACTIVE IODINE TREATMENT FOR MY GRAVE'S DISEASE....THEN HYPOTHYROIDISM SET IN...AND MY STRUGGLE TO FIGURE OUT MY METABOLISM BEGAN. I FOUND MYSELF MAKING EXCUSES FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO LOSE THE WEIGHT AND THUS BEGAN THE ROLLER COASTER OF UPS AND DOWNS OVER THE YEARS. NOW....23 YEARS LATER I FINALLY FOUND MY WAY. I NO LONGER FEEL PRESSURED BY MY FAMILY TO EAT WHAT THEY WANT OR THINK I SHOULD. I MADE A CONSCIOUS DECISION OVER 1.5 YEARS AGO TO GET MY BUTT IN GEAR AND FINALLY REALIZE MY DREAMS TO BE HEALTHY. I LOST 40LBS (GIVE OR TAKE A COUPLE POUNDS HERE AND THERE FOR FLUID RETENTION) AND EXERCISE EVERY DAY AND USE MFP TO KEEP MYSELF ACCOUNTABLE TO WHAT I EAT. I LOST THE WEIGHT IN 6 MONTHS AND HAVE BEEN ON MAINTENANCE OVER A YEAR....NO WEIGHT HAS BEEN PUT BACK ON.
MY ADVICE TO YOU IS NOT TO WAIT TO MAKE THIS LIFESTYLE CHANGE 20 YEARS FROM NOW. ALL THOSE YEARS YOU HAVE AHEAD OF YOU CAN BE FILLED WITH SELF CONFIDENCE AND SELF ESTEEM, THAT I ALWAYS WANTED AND DIDN'T ACHIEVE UNTIL WELL INTO MY 40'S. I AM FINALLY COMFORTABLE IN MY OWN SKIN. AND PLEASE DON'T LISTEN TO WHAT THE CHARTS SAY YOU SHOULD WEIGH. ACCORDING TO THE CHARTS I SHOULD BE ANOTHER 20LBS LIGHTER, BUT MY DOCTOR SAYS THOSE CHARTS ARE HOGWASH AND UNREALISTIC. I AM FINE WHERE I AM AT, FEEL GOOD AND ALL MY JOINT PAINS ARE GONE, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY I HAVE SELF CONFIDENCE AND SELF ESTEEM THAT MAKES ME A BETTER PERSON THAN I WAS 40LBS AGO.

AS I MENTION, I USE MFP STILL TO THIS DAY, AND IT WAS THE BIGGEST AID TO MY WEIGHT LOSS. I ALSO USE JILLIAN MICHAELS 20 MIN WORKOUT VIDEOS FOR STRENGTH TRAINING...STILL TO THIS DAY, I ROTATE THROUGH HER DVD'S FOR 30 DAY SHRED AND RIPPED IN 30. AFTER I LOST THE WEIGHT I SPLURGED ON MYSELF AND GOT AN ELLIPTICAL AND USE THAT ON THE DAYS I CAN'T WALK.

AS FOR EVERYONE ELSE....I TUNE THEM OUT. THAT WAS MY GIFT TO MYSELF. I HAD TO DO THE HARD WORK OF GETTING THE WEIGHT OFF, BUT HARDER STILL WAS TUNING OUT EVERYONE THAT TRIED TO INADVERTENTLY SABOTAGE MY GOALS. I STAYED STRONG. CAUSE I'M MY BIGGEST ADVOCATE....I AM 'ME STRONG'. I KEPT REMINDING MYSELF OF THAT AND STAYED THE COURSE.

YOU CAN TOO....GOOD LUCK ON YOUR JOURNEY AND DON'T BE SCARED. TOMORROW IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE HEALTHIEST PART OF YOUR LIFE. EMBRACE IT AND CARRY ON WITH YOUR HEAD HELD HIGH. YOU CAN DO IT...I KNOW YOU CAN CAUSE YOU ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON A JOURNEY LIKE MINE...I DID IT...SO CAN YOU :-)

I am very similar. I joined weight watchers and then not track points! I would loss 10 lbs and then gain it back. I want to loss 50 lbs total. I have lost 18 lbs I tracked everything. I wear a pedometer and count my steps.

Don't just focus on the end goal, remember every few pounds you lose is an achievement and will make you feel better about your appearance.

And sorry I don't have advice about your mum except perhaps taking another posters advice and seeking professional help with a therapist. It sounds like you are a very sensitive person and her behaviour, though probably unintentional, is just leeching away your confidence.

Also I too was scared I think it's normal!